Minorities in Turkey II: Ideology and Discrimination

Abstract

This article focuses on the ideological roots of the repressive and discriminatory mentality/philosophy that has shaped democracy and minority policies in Turkey. My aim is to analyze the consequences of this mentality, with an emphasis on hate speech and discrimination. To this end, I summarize the consequences of the issues and policies discussed in the previous article, and discuss their future implications for both the state and the people of Turkey. I conclude that it is necessary to refer to citizens not through the ethno-religious term Turk, and still less as Muslims, but through the thoroughly territorial term Türkiyeli (of Turkey), and to do all that is necessary to ensure such a transformation in mentality.